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What is the financial aid timeline?

Financial Aid Timeline for 2008-09
December 2007	Pick up 2007-08 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Paper FAFSA forms are available in high school guidance offices and college financial aid offices.
January 2008	Apply on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov . You need your 2007 income and asset information to complete the FAFSA. ECU's Federal code is 002923.
February 15, 2008	Preferred date by which you should file your FAFSA.
Mid-February	ECU begins to communicate with financial aid applicants. We may ask for additional information or documents. Be sure to write the student's name and social security number on all correspondence and documents.
March 1, 2008	State Grant(s) application deadlines.
April 2008	ECU begins to e-mail award notices to new freshmen who have complete financial aid records. Student financial aid information is available on Banner Self Service, which is accessed via http://onestop.ecu.edu. Students must use their PirateID (ECU Exchange Email User ID) and Passphrase to access this record.
May 2008	ECU begins to e-mail award notices to returning students with completed financial aid records. Student financial aid information is available on Banner Self Service.
June 2008	First time Federal Stafford Loan borrowers need to complete their Master Promissory Note to their lender - if they have not already done so. First time Federal Stafford Loan borrowers must also complete the loan entrance counseling activities at www.mapping-your-future.org.
July/August 2008	Fall semester bills are due. Even if your financial aid covers your ECU bill you MUST return a copy of the billing statement to the ECU Cashier's Office before the bill payment deadline.

Financial Aid Timeline for Summer 2008
No later than March 1, 2008	Complete the 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit it if you have not already done so. Paper FAFSA forms are available in high school guidance offices and college financial aid offices. Mail in the completed FAFSA or apply on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You need 2007 income and asset information to complete the FAFSA. ECU's code is 002923. Complete a 2008 Summer School Aid Application no later than March 15, 2008. This application is available under Forms.
After you have registered for Summer 2008 courses	ECU will begin to communicate with you about summer financial aid. You may receive a denial letter, a request for additional information, or an award notice. Student financial aid information is available on Banner Self Service, which is accessed via http://onestop.ecu.edu. Students must use their PirateID (ECU Exchange Email User ID) and Passphrase to access this record.
April/May/June 2008	Summer bills are due even if your financial aid covers your ECU bill. You MUST return a copy of the billing statement to the ECU Cashier's Office before the bill payment deadline.

Financial Aid Timeline for Spring 2009
October 2008	Apply for assistance online by completing the 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submit it if you have not already done so. Paper FAFSA forms are available in high school guidance offices and college financial aid offices. Mail in the completed FAFSA or apply on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You need 2007 income and asset information to complete the FAFSA. ECU's code is 002923.
About 4 weeks after filing your FAFSA	ECU will begin to communicate with you about additional information or documents required. Be sure to write the student's name and social security number on all correspondence and documents. ECU will email award notices to students with completed financial aid records. Student financial aid information is available on Banner Self Service, which is accessed via http://onestop.ecu.edu. Students must use their PirateID (ECU Exchange Email User ID) and Passphrase to access this record. First time Federal Stafford Loan borrowers need to complete their Master Promissory Note if they have not already done so. First time Federal Stafford Loan borrowers must also complete the loan entrance counseling activities at www.mapping-your-future.org.
December 2008	Spring semester bills are due. Even if your financial aid covers your ECU bill you MUST return a copy of the billing statement to the ECU Cashier's Office before the bill payment deadline.

Tips

You can apply for financial aid before you are admitted to the University. It is important to apply early for financial aid. You can list up to 6 college choices on the FREE Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). ECU's code is 002923.
Read all the instructions on the FAFSA before beginning. It is sometimes helpful to complete the paper FAFSA prior to going on-line to apply at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Applying on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov is faster and sometimes easier than completing the paper FAFSA form. The on-line FAFSA has some automatic edits, so you may make fewer errors when completing it. You can sign your FAFSA electronically if you have a federal student financial aid "PIN." You can apply for a PIN at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Round money amounts to the nearest dollar. Example: $28,459.67 should be $28,460.
Use the correct lines from the correct Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal income tax returns.
When corresponding with ECU, include the student's name and social security number. Do not, however, list the social security number in the subject line of an email message.
Apply before February 15^th and you will be on target!